Hornsea Wildlife and Walks: Close Encounters of the Yaffling Kind

Sunday 12 April 2020

Close Encounters of the Yaffling Kind

March to date - 67 miles
Year to date - 566 miles

Another beautiful morning here on the East Coast of Yorkshire and another lockdown day. Although a warm morning was promised it was still cool when I set off so no shorts yet!

The usual suspects were out and about with a couple of Brown Hares in the fields and several Roe Deer watching me as I walked by.

doe, a deer, a female deer

...or maybe that should be roe, a deer, a female deer.

Plenty of warbler action in the reeds, trees and shrubs now. Sedge and Willow joined the resident Cetti's in a lovely chorus with solos by Skylark and Yellowhammer.

I have a new addition to my gear to try out today which is a combination rucksack and seat. I've known about them for a while but just recently I have been getting a bit tired on my walks and there's never a seat when you want one - so I'll take my own.

My location of choice was a place where I've seen Green Woodpecker before so on my way back from the exercise walk I decided to stake out its favoured tree. Of course, wildlife does what it wants, not what you want so after a while of watching and listening to Blackcaps, Wrens, Chiffchaffs, Stock Doves, Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Robins and Great Spotted Woodpeckers it seemed high time a Green Pecker turned up. Then it did, but not on the mature tree I was watching. It landed on a sapling about 20 yards behind me. I turned round and the sun was in my eyes so the bird was backlit. Not ideal. It called three times before it flew off giving me a bit of time to get some photos.

The Green Woodpecker's call is called a yaffle which is also an old English name for the bird.

It was a marvelous experience to hear the call so close, and to see a Green Woodpecker so clearly too.

The bluebells are out in the woods and hedgerows and there was a small patch lit by the sun through the trees.

On the way back I got a long distance shot of a couple of Brown Hares - I'll get a close up one of these days to match those I've taken in the Wolds in the past.